Beach Little League plans busy weekend

May 11, 2012

This Saturday, take in a ballgame and watch competitors in the MLB Pitch Hit & Run contest on the Beach.

Bay Oaks Recreational Campus will host five big games this Saturday as the Fort Myers Beach Little League season enters its home stretch.

The Beach is fielding nine teams in five different baseball and softball divisions, playing foes from Bonita Springs, San Carlos Park, Lehigh Acres, Alva, Immokalee and LaBelle. Games take place on the fields at Bay Oaks almost nightly between March and June.

This Saturday May 12 is an especially busy day. Things get underway at 9 a.m. on Wade Jenkins Field with the Beach T-ball Cubs and Cardinals squaring off. The little field will see two more Beach teams at 2 p.m. as the Beach Minor (7-11) Dodgers and Rays continue a season-long rivalry.

In between the two games, the Beach Pitch Hit & Run competition will take place at noon. Boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 14 will compete not just for local bragging rights but also for a berth in the national competition. Winners in each of four divisions will advance to compete at major league ballparks with the finalists taking the field at the All Star Game. Pitch Hit & Run is hosted jointly by Bay Oaks and the league.

Also on Saturday Rod Vayo Field, the big field, will see a unique Senior (13-16) softball triple-header. At 10 a.m. the Beach Senior Stingrays will take on LaBelle. Then at 12:30 p.m., LaBelle will play San Carlos Park. At 3 the Beach Seahawks will take on San Carlos Park.

Beach Little League is in its 57th year of providing recreational outlets and all the other benefits of exercise and team sports to the youth of the Fort Myers Beach area. The league is an all-volunteer organization supported generously by the people and businesses of Fort Myers Beach.

"It's been another good season, with over 100 kids playing," said league president Rick Loughery. "These fields have stayed busy and it's great. The kids and the coaches are working hard and having fun."

Come on out and show your support. Rick will gladly grill you a hamburger or hot dog or one of his not-yet-famous grilled chicken sandwiches. The fully stocked concession stand will be open all day.